Mcminn County TN Archives Obituaries.....Wattenbarger, Mary Jane Simpson January 5, 1953 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/tn/tnfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Tom Long tlongjr@cfl.rr.com September 27, 2009, 8:07 pm Daily Post Athenian, 6 Jan 1953 Mrs. Mary Jane Wattenbarger Simpson, member of pioneer family and one of McMinn County’s oldest resident, died at 11 p.m. Monday night at the home of a daughter, Mrs. R.H. (Alpha) Snyder at near-by Niota. She had been a semi-invalid for the past four years, and would have celebrated her 94th birthday next February 1. She was the widow of Luke Simpson, who died 31 years ago. For the past 26 years she made her home with her daughter, Mrs. Snyder in Niota. She was a lifelong resident of McMinn County, a daughter of the late Ananais (Bud) Wattenbarger and Emmaline McKeehan Wattenbarger. Mrs. Simpson better known as “Aunt Mary Jane” was a member of a pioneer McMinn County family who endured hardships of the early frontier days. She was a motherly woman of the “old school” and in her younger days lived through hardships with no time for “parties nor vacations.” Instead she devoted all her “spare time” to spinning both wool and cotton from which she would weave into material to be fashioned into garments for her husband and children. She often told of weaving the old fashioned linsey and cotton cloth used for dresses and shirts. From jeans she made her husband’s suits. She also made the wool coverlets which are now prized possessions, blankets from wool and sheets from cotton thread were also woven, and towels and other articles were woven from the home-grown flax. Some 25 years ago, Mrs. Simpson and daughter, Mrs. Snyder purchased a modern day shuttle loom on which they wove numerous articles. Until recent years she was able to thread her own needle and read her bible daily without the aid of glasses. She was a devout Christian and a firm believer in prayer - - a member of the Sewee Church of God. Surviving are four daughters, Mrs. Snyder of Niota; Mrs. Maggie Foster of Sewee; Mrs. A. (Emma) Jordon of near Sewee: and Mrs. A. F. (Eva) Ringo of Spokane Wash; one sister, Mrs. Nammie Newman; of the Buttram community and several half-brothers; 24 grandchildren; 37 great grandchildren; and 13 great-great grandchildren. Two children, Luther Simpson of Hot Springs South Dakota, and Mrs. B. M. (Ada) Redmond of Corvalis, Ore., died during the past few years. Funeral services will be conducted Wednesday at 2 p.m. at the Sewee Church of God with the Pastor, the Rev. H. L. Elliott; the Rev. Hugh Hackler of Meigs County; the Rev. Sanford Swann of Niota, and the Rev. C. A. Allison of Inglewood officiating. Pallbearers will be Bruce Kennedy, Owen Kennedy, Sim Sewell, Bill Snyder, Tommy Foster and Nelson Simpson. The body will be removed to the home of a daughter, Mrs. Snyder in Niota at 5 p.m. today where it will remain until the funeral hour Tuesday. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/tn/mcminn/obits/w/wattenba22ob.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/tnfiles/ File size: 3.3 Kb